Thursday, July 31, 2008

Supergrass Shake Up NYC Crowd, 7.30.08

England's Supergrass spent most of July touring with the Foo Fighters in different venues throughout the United States. But on Wednesday night, the band ended their series of US tour dates by headlining a packed show at New York City's Webster Hall.

The crowd went wild as the band took the stage and kicked things off with "Diamond Hoo Ha Man," the opening track from their latest album, Diamond Hoo Ha. Crunchy guitars and pounding rhythms permeated the venue as the audience sang and bopped to the beat. And though Supergrass spent the first chunk of the show playing some other tracks from the newest album, including "Bad Blood" and "Rebel in You," they also mixed things up by throwing in a few older tunes like "Moving" from the band's self-titled third album. While some songs had a more abrupt sound, others like "Sun Hits the Sky" from In it for the Money, filled the room with their explosive, swirling guitar noises.

The band members stayed energetic throughout the show and gave their all as the night went on. Lead singer Gaz Coombes was drenched in sweat as he darted around the stage cheerfully, rocking out and encouraging the audience to dance, clap or sing along. And while the band members were charmingly gracious at times, complimenting the crowd and city for being "lovely," they weren't above cursing or acting silly either. Fans were treated to a bit of mock fighting and a goofy false start before drummer Danny Goffey took over the vocals for "Ghost of a Friend." At another point, Coombes decided to ask attendees how they liked his striped shirt.After performing "Butterfly," the closer from Diamond Hoo Ha, Coombes announced that the band would be devoting some time to their older material. The crowd got even more enthusiastic — you could feel the floor shaking during some of the more popular songs and a lot of people sang their hearts out during the likes of "Pumping On Your Stereo."

It seems that the audience didn't want the band to leave at all during the night and so, Supergrass took the stage one last time for a three-song encore as the crowd chanted their name repeatedly. The band concluded the show with a punchy performance of their first single, 1994's "Caught By the Fuzz," with Coombes throwing himself onto Goffey's drum kit when they were done — a perfect ending for such a lively summer show.

About a Blog

Rad Perspectives is an outlet for Radhika, a young journalist and graduate student, to do a little fun writing on the side. Posts typically focus on pop culture, music, travel, and miscellaneous observations.